To date, the Final Stage has known four forms. Each of these share a single, common goal: to scale the tower and reach the button at the top before time expires. If the competitor does not reach the top platform in time, the rope is cut and the competitor falls (they are caught by a safety line). Reaching the top is referred to as 'Kanzenseiha' (完全制覇), translated roughly as "complete domination", and rendered on Ninja Warrior as "Total Victory". Of all the competitors to attempt to claim victory, only thirty two have been admitted to the Final Stage, and only four of them have gotten there more than once (Ōmori Akira in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd competitions, Yamamoto Shingo in the 3rd and 7th, Nagano Makoto in the 11th, 12th, 13th, his victory in the 17th, and 23rd, and Urushihara Yuuji in the 22nd, along with his victories in the 24th and 27th ). Currently there are only 3 victors: Akiyama Kazuhiko defeated SASUKE in the 4th Competition, Nagano Makoto in the 17th and Urushihara Yuuji in the 24th and 27th. The original Final Stage consisted of climbing a 15 meter (49 ft) rope, and the contestant must start climbing from a seated position. Kawashima Takayuki was the first to try it. The second version of the Final Stage was unveiled in the 7th Competition, when Yamamoto Shingo became the first to attempt it. The height of the tower was increased to 22.5 metres (74 ft). It consists of a 12.5 metres (41 ft) Spider Climb followed by a 10 metres (33 ft) Rope Climb. After 15 seconds, the walls of the Spider Climb spread apart. This ensnared Jordan Jovtchev during the 8th Competition, when he failed to complete the Spider Climb before it began spreading, and fell off the tower. The third version of the Final Stage was revealed in the 22nd competition, when Urushihara Yuuji was the first to try it. The height of the tower remained mostly the same as the second version of the Final Stage, but two new obstacles are used: a 13 metres (43 ft) "Heavenly Ladder" and a 10 metres (33 ft) "G Rope." The time limit was increased to 45 seconds. Because of Urushihara Yuuji's near victory in SASUKE 22, the time limit was reduced to 40 seconds. Competiors were not dropped due to the Heavenly Ladder being in the way. The fourth version consisted of a 20 meter rope climb, which had the same time limit. Matachi Ryo was the first to attempt it in SASUKE 27, and came less than 2 meters from victory when the rope was cut, however, Urushihara Yuuji achieved Kanzenseiha later that night. The prize for completing the Final Stage is ¥2,000,000 (about US$18,618). It was changed to a Nissan Fuga car in SASUKE 24. Typically, only one or two people make it to the Final Stage, if any make it at all. However, the 3rd competition and the 24th competition saw a record 5 competitors attempt the Final Stage. After the 4th competition, though, the Final Stage was only achieved on average every other tournament. Interestingly, out of all the athletes to attempt the Final Stage, none have had a weight of more than 70 kg, perhaps as heavier competitors' weights would play as a disadvantage in the Third Stage.

Version 1 (SASUKE 1 - 4)

The first ever final stage included a single 15 meter rope climb, named the Tsuna Nobori (綱登り) with a 30 second time limit. Although this version only lasted four tournaments, there were a total of twelve attempts made, including three by Omori Akira. In SASUKE 3, Yamada Katsumi joined four others in the final stage and came within inches of kanzenseiha. The next tournament, Akiyama Kazuhiko, who had previously never passed the second stage, became the first man in history to achieve kanzenseiha by clearing with 6.0 seconds left.

Final Stage version 1 (SASUKE 1 - 4)

Version 2 (SASUKE 5 - 17)

After Akiyama Kazuhiko's Kanzenseiha in SASUKE 4, the Final Stage went through its first revision. The new, taller second Final Stage included a 12.5 meter Spider Climb (スパイダークライム) before the shortened, 10 meter Tsuna Nobori (綱登り). The time limit was left unchanged. In addition, the Spider Climb would separate after 15 seconds. This separation brought down only one competitor, Jordan Jovtchev, in SASUKE 8. The only other person to fail the Spider Climb, Yamamoto Shingo, dislocated his shoulder in his attempt. Kanzenseiha was almost achieved in SASUKE 12, where Nagano Makoto failed to press the button by 0.11 seconds. Nagano also came close from victory in SASUKE 13 .He would later clear the stage with 2.56 seconds left to achieve Kanzenseiha in SASUKE 17.

Final Stage version 2 (SASUKE 5 - 17)

Pre Version - 3 Versions

After Nagano Makoto's kanzenseiha in SASUKE 17, TBS showed the SASUKE 5~17 version of the Final Stage being demolished and coming up from the rubble was a new Final Stage. This Final Stage looked extremely difficult as it consisted of a Spider Climb and three ropes alternating from right to left to right. It is speculated that this was the design of the Final Stage that the producers wanted, however it was never used for unknown reasons. This final stage was also showed at the end of SASUKE 24 but once again, it was not used.

The "new" Final Stage shown at the end of SASUKE 17

From the pictures provided by G4 and Taiwanese competitor Li En Zhi, and from the new SASUKE Plug-and-Play game, it had been suggested that the new final stage consisted of a Metal Ladder and Final Climb. However, there is no absolute verification that it was the actual final stage.

Screenshot from the SASUKE Plug-and-Play game

Version 3 (SASUKE 18 - 24)

The new Final Stage was finally revealed in SASUKE 22 with Urushihara Yuuji's Third Stage clear. The new Final Stage was revealed to be a 13m rope ladder, named the Heavenly Ladder (ヘブンリーラダー), and a 10m rope climb, renamed from the Tsuna Nobori to the G-Rope (Gロープ). It is unknown if anything is different between the two rope climbs to warrant a name change. The time limit of the new Final Stage was also raised to 45 seconds. After Urushihara Yuuji's run in 22, the time limit was reduced to 40 seconds. A total of five people attempted it in SASUKE 24, with Urushihara as the only returning finalist. He would defeat the Final Stage with 3.57 seconds to spare, earning the third ever 'Kanzenseiha'. This is the only version of the final stage which was attempted after someone had cleared it (due to Urushihara being 3rd in order, while the other 2 clears, Akiyama and Nagano, were both Last Man Standing).

Final Stage version 3 (SASUKE 18 - 24)

Version 4 (SASUKE 25 - 27)

Since no one made it to the final stage in SASUKE 25, the obstacles of the Final Stage were unknown and this would remain true the next tournament. However, it was known the same structure was used, as in the final stage used in SASUKE 18-24. in SASUKE 25, however, the tower's appearence was different, as it did not possess the light rings present in previous tournaments. The tower also had a beam of blue light coming out of the top of it; a feature not present in SASUKE 26. The final stage was finally unveiled, with Unlimited Cliffer members Matachi Ryo and Urushihara Yuuji's stage three breakthroughs, in SASUKE 27 and consists of a 20-meter Tsuna Nobori, named the Ultimate Rope Climb with a time limit of 40 seconds.The tower height remained at 23 metres to the Goal. This version was conquered by Urushihara Yuuji and with record speed (6.7 sec left); marking this his second time achieving kanzenseiha, a first in SASUKE history. This is currently the only Final Stage SASUKE obstacle to be cleared in the tournament of it's introduction.

Final Stage version 4 (SASUKE 25 - 27)

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The third stage has no time limit, allowing contestants to go at their own pace. Contestants are allowed a few seconds of rest between obstacles during which they can apply "sticky spray" to improve their grip. While the first two stages focus on speed and agility, this course almost exclusively tests one's upper body strength and stamina. Out of 2,800 overall competitors and 327 Second Stage competitors, 158 have attempted the Third Stage. The Third Stage is so grueling that, on average, someone passes it only every other competition, and with the exception of SASUKE 3 and 24, the success rate has been 50% or lower in every other competition (0% in 14 out of 28 competitions as no one passed it). The Third Stage has only been passed 32 times, and only four have passed it more than once.

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Those with enough skill to complete the First Stage then take on an even more grueling set of obstacles in the Second Stage. 285 competitors have ever reached the Second Stage. Like the First Stage, the obstacles alter throughout the competitions, but all hold to the same principle: if the competitor makes a single mistake they fall into the water below. The obstacles determine the time limit, and it is usually between 50 seconds and 100 seconds, the only exception being SASUKE 28 where the time limit was 135 seconds. The Second Stage is known traditionally as a speed stage, with a more fast paced theme and generally a shorter time limit than the First Stage, the only exceptions being the 7th-10th competitions, and the 28th.

Unlike the First Stage, which has always required the competitors to hit a buzzer at the end of the course to stop the clock and pass the course, the Second Stage did not have a buzzer at its end until the 8th Competition. Before then, the competitors simply walked through an open gate to stop the clock. From the 8th Competition onward, the buzzer opens the gate. If the competitor busts open the gate without hitting the button, they are disqualified (as shown by Paul Hamm in SASUKE 14). In addition, the course judges can hold the gates closed if a competitor committed a foul earlier in the Second Stage that would result in their disqualification, such as using the Chain Reaction gloves on the Spider Walk as Mr. "SASUKE" Yamada Katsumi had done in SASUKE 12.

On average, 10 to 15 competitors attempt the Second Stage on each competition. A record 37 competitors attempted the Second Stage during SASUKE 4. Also during SASUKE 4, a record 11 competitors cleared the Second Stage. During SASUKE 5, however, only three men made it to the Second Stage due to new, tougher obstacles in the First Stage. In SASUKE 19, neither of the two qualified competitors cleared the circuit (a fall and a timeout on the Salmon Ladder), marking the earliest end of a SASUKE competition. Interestingly, the rate of clears in the Second Stage is nearly 50%, in comparison to the First Stage's clearance record of just 10%.

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One hundred participants are given the opportunity to attempt the First Stage, a course which primarily tests one's speed. The object is to hit the buzzer at the end of the course before the allotted time expires. If a competitor goes out of bounds or comes into contact with the water in any of the pits below the course, he is disqualified.

Typically, 85 to 90 of the 100 original entrants are eliminated in this stage. However, in the 4th competition, a record 37 of the original 100 competitors made it past the first stage. After the 4th, and again after the 17th competition, the first stage was thoroughly redesigned to be much more difficult and prevent large numbers of people from moving on. In fact, a G4 special inside the making of the 18th SASUKE competition revealed that the redesign of the first stage for that competition was done with the intention of seeing all 100 challengers fail it. This did not happen, however, and that has only spurred the production team on to make this and all stages to follow even harder. That goal was almost met in the 19th competition, where much to everyone's surprise, only two competitors cleared the first stage (neither of the two being SASUKE All-Stars), the least in SASUKE history.

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Tags: Sasuke Stages